Upton up, up and away?

Phenom may have short stay in town

Phenom may have short stay in town

April 06, 2006|JASON KELLY

Justin Upton will be here late and, if the breathless projections prove out, he won't stay long even by minor league baseball's migratory standards. To hear the first impressions of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 amateur draft, the Midwest League won't be able to contain him. Reports from the Arizona Diamondbacks' spring training in Tucson, base camp for the steep mountain of Upton's potential, don't shy away from the superlative. Luis Gonzalez said he couldn't hit the ball as far as Upton as an 18-year-old, and as if to assist in the construction of the legend, added that he still can't. Upton has poise to match that raw talent. He had six hits in 10 at-bats this spring against big league competition, including run-scoring extra-base hits on consecutive days. He has a baseball pedigree. Upton's brother B.J. was the second overall pick in 2002 and plays in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization. And he has a seasoned professional's respect for the game. Upton reported to camp even before pitchers and catchers, impressing his elders with a commitment worthy of his rookie-record $6.1 million contract. Like his soaring batting practice home runs, he seems destined to go far, fast. His first stop will be with the South Bend Silver Hawks, until he outgrows the Cove. For now he remains in Arizona rehabbing a strained shoulder suffered in spring training. (He even got injured like a veteran. More on that in a minute.) Expected to join the South Bend Silver Hawks sometime between April 18-26, Upton will be fashionably late for health reasons, but the delayed entrance fits his surrounding aura of stardom, preordained. It just doesn't fit Upton the restless kid, the giddy ballplayer with a smile as wide as his wheelhouse. No prima donna by all accounts, Upton just wants to play ball. Assigned to the drudgery and relative isolation of rehab after his injury, he made a point to stretch with the rest of the designated Silver Hawks, his teammates for the foreseeable future. "He goes, 'I need to be with my team. This is my team,'" Silver Hawks manager Mark Haley said. "That's the kind of guy he is. He loves to compete. It's driving him crazy right now because he's rehabbing his shoulder. He wants to go." Once he gets going, Upton could be gone before you know it. Phenoms, at least the ones who turn out to be the real thing, have a short shelf life in Class A ball. And Upton has all the leading indicators of being the real thing. "I don't know how long he'll be here because he is that far advanced as a hitter," Haley said. "Who knows? If he comes in here in the first two months and tears it up, he will be gone." A move from his natural position at shortstop to the outfield could hasten that process. The Diamonbacks have two previous first-round picks playing shortstop in their minor league system, so the switch removes the risk of his considerable lumber getting lost in that logjam. It showed the organization Upton's balance of ambition and humility, a desire to advance and help the team in the process. "Which goes to show the level of maturity for him as an 18-year-old kid," Haley said, "to see the big picture and understand." Whatever position he plays, Upton's biggest impact likely will be at the plate. Combining a slugger's bat speed with the savvy to shorten his swing and put two-strike pitches in play, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound rookie possesses patience, and especially strength, beyond his years. "He creates so much torque with his hands. When you see him hit, it stands out," Haley said. "He got a pitch up and he tried to stay through the ball -- " Haley held his left arm across his body, just under his chin, and demonstrated the proper follow through, "which at advanced levels we're always trying to get 25-, 26-year-olds to do." At 18, Upton does it like he fought off his first high, inside pitch from the obstetrician. It looks that innate, but his textbook instinct delayed his debut with one aggressive cut. "Trying to keep through the ball," Haley said, "and he paid the price." So Upton will ease into a professional career projected to experience jet propulsion toward the major leagues, nursing his shoulder rather than rushing it into the chill of April in the Midwest League. The promise of greatness stirs fascination, which explains the interest in a player who won't be in the lineup for at least another two weeks. Once Upton arrives, all eyes will watch the No. 1 overall draft pick grow in a Silver Hawks uniform, for as long as it fits him.